THREE LITTLE BIRDS BY GUY CRIBB. 3 cracking tips for everyone, from INtuition.

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1 BY GUY CRIBB 3 cracking tips for everyone, from INtuition.

2 FRONT FOOT FORWARDS henever you re not in the footstraps, pointing your front foot forwards, directly to W the nose of the board, is vital for your balance and control. It s as important, and very similar to looking where you want to go, as it helps twist your body to face forwards, which prevents catapults and helps stop the board from swerving into the wind. GYBING When you step forwards, making sure that your front foot is pointing forwards helps to face your body to the exit, making the rig flip smoother and planing exits possible. Pointing your front foot across the board makes your body face the rig, losing the strength and position to throw the rig to the exit, usually resulting in falling off downwind during the rig flip, or swerving into the wind at the exit. And if you did manage to struggle through these stages, with your front foot across the board you ll probably be catapulted in a moment anyway.

3 WATERSTARTING To waterstart you should come onto the board in a movement towards the nose, as opposed to from one side of the board to the other, (which usually results in going from the water on one side to the water on the other in a kind of flop catapult.) Concentrating on pointing your front foot forwards as you come on, helps you come up forwards, and prevents an instant catapult, especially if combined with looking upwind. FOOTSTRAPPING Before getting into the footstraps, point your front foot forwards to help turn the board downwind and lock it in place so it doesn t instantly swerve back into the wind. WINDSURF OCTOBER

4 BACK HAND OFF BACK HAND OFF Wave goodbye to sore arms and being out of control, by letting go with your back hand. One of the first tips I give my INtuition Freeride guests is to let go with their back hand, as it naturally commits all their weight to their harness, relieving them of any unnecessary muscular stresses from day one. This works especially well using their Cribb Sheets to position the lines correctly in the first place. (If your lines are too far forward, you ll find you wont be able to sail comfortably letting go with your back hand.) I ask them to firstly ease right off, then let go altogether and they regularly find they can sail for ages, or hundreds of metres one handed, wondering why they d previously been causing so much fuss! Sailing one handed not only makes windsurfing less physical, it has these two great attributes too- 1- Without pulling hard on the back hand, it s easier to get lower for a much better stance. 2- Sailing one handed proves you can reach far enough back down the boom going into gybes. If you re finding it creates too much pull on your front hand, push your ass further out to increase tension in the lines, and tip the rig further forwards. More at guycribb.com/technique/magazine articles-stance This is what the guests think of sailing one handed: Hi Guy, Sat back at my desk in Blandford today, feet so swollen cant get my shoes on, septic blisters on my hands and fingers permanently bent into boom shaped claws!... but wanted to say thanks for a truly awesome week. I was really impressed by the amount of effort you put into making sure we all enjoyed every aspect of the holiday, great company, memorable experiences (did we really dance to Faithless in the desert?) great food and of course epic windsurfing. I cant believe how much I improved; waterstarting without a triathlon swim first, nailing gybes, early planing, running beach starts, properly tuned kit and of course sailing relaxed and under control one handed in 30+ knots!! The Intuition week will without doubt be one of my best ever holidays and a permanent fixture in my dairy, see you in Poole, Cheers, AH

5 And here they are in action: WINDSURF OCTOBER

6 UNHOOK WITH YOUR THUMBS COMFORTABLY THUMB Do you ever find yourself falling off backwards, pulling the rig down on top of you because you couldn t unhook in time? This simple tip works a treat, and can improve your rig control too. With your fingertips hooked over the boom, put your thumb as low on the lines as it will reach. Use your usual unhooking skills (pelvic thrust) but combine them with pushing the line out with your thumb. Phew! In normal windsurfing conditions, i.e. anything but overpowered or entering a gybe/trick, you should sail with your back hand right alongside the back harness line. This prevents over-sheeting and gives you more info from your rig, improving your feel of the wind and tuning, improving your stance when hooked in and helping get your weight further forwards to sail upwind better. SUMMARY Using a Cribb Sheet to set your kit up, will enable you to unhook easier using your thumb, and allow you to sail for ages one handed, using your bodyweight to control the rig, rather than your arms. Further reading on stance and tuning to help you manage sailing one handed, and loads more at articles or join me on holiday for the INtuition Gospel straight from the horse s mouth. Use your INtuition! Copyright Guy Cribb 2006 Pics by Anna/ INtuition, Thorsten Indra, JC, Dave White and Nikki McCleary INtuition: Designed and delivered exclusively by Guy Cribb Britain s professional windsurf coaching Windsurfing coaching exclusively designed and delivered by Guy Cribb, professional windsurfer and twelve times British Champion. Catch him if you can on this year s INtuition UK Tour, bringing the best windsurfing coaching to your doorstep throughout the summer, or join him for the ultimate windsurfing holiday overseas, exclusively at the very best venues, at the right time of year to ensure perfect conditions, only using the very best windsurfing rental centres and the unbeatable INtuition coaching, 24/7! INtuition Holidays - Planet Windsurf INtuition UK courses - guy@guycribb.com Private coaching in Poole - guy@guycribb.com Guy Cribb is sponsored by JP Australia, Neil Pryde, Animal, Adidas Eyewear, Planet Windsurf and INtuition. Cribby, 20 years ago at the world championships in Cornwall